Chapter 4 Critical illness

Shen Modi stood on the stairs, taking a deep breath to compose herself before heading home. She opened the door to find her father, looking haggard, leaning on the living room sofa and watching TV. Her brother was in the kitchen. Hearing the door open, Shen Weiguo smiled and looked over, "Xiao Di, you're back?" He tried to sit up.

Shen Modi rushed over immediately, "Dad, stay lying down, don't move." Seeing her father in this state made her heart ache, and her nose started to tingle. Shen Weiguo smiled, "Silly child, I'm fine. Being home, I already feel much better."

"Dad, let's go to the hospital, okay? I have money. My design work is selling more and more, and we'll have more money in the future. Look!" Shen Modi knelt in front of her father, eyes red, and showed him the balance on her phone.

Shen Weiguo looked at the balance of over 200,000 yuan and said, "Child, you've worked so hard." He knew he might have a serious illness, but he didn't expect it to be late-stage liver cancer. From the moment he knew the truth, he felt even more that his child was working too hard. She had been taking care of him tirelessly, and she went to great lengths to hide the truth from him. He also hated his own uselessness, his body failing him. He should be the one shouldering the family burden, but instead, it was his child who suffered.

With just one sentence, Shen Modi broke down again. She shook her head, eyes red, and grasped her father's hand tightly, "It's not hard, Dad, it's not hard at all. As long as you're okay, and Xiaoguang is okay, I'm completely satisfied. Dad, please just stay in the hospital. Medical technology is advanced now, and it can be treated."

Shen Weiguo reached out to gently touch his daughter's head and said, "Xiao Di, you're 24 this year. A girl should marry early if she finds a suitable partner. Having children earlier is less harmful to the body."

"Yes, Dad, I have a boyfriend. He's my colleague. We've known each other for more than two years, and we've always been quite close. He confessed to me yesterday, and I quite like him. I'll bring him home to meet you someday. If it feels right, we'll get married," Shen Modi said, telling a white lie.

Shen Weiguo smiled, genuinely happy for his daughter, "Good, a colleague is good. Knowing each other for a longer time, understanding each other's backgrounds, it's better."

"Dad, don't worry about me. I'll handle everything. I'll take you to the hospital now," Shen Modi said, getting up.

Shen Weiguo held her hand and said, "Xiao Di, Dad won't go to the hospital. Don't waste money on me. You need money for your wedding."

The matter of Xiaoguang's cochlear implant, he suddenly felt he couldn't bring it up. Xiao Di had endured so much hardship. Tears streamed down Shen Modi's face. "Dad, I'm still young. I can earn money. I can make a lot of money in the future." But she only had one father, and life only happens once. She wanted to do everything she could to help her father live longer.

"Dad, let's go to the hospital, okay?" Shen Modi choked, her whole body trembling. Shen Weiguo couldn't bear to see his daughter like this; it made his heart spasm. He glanced toward the kitchen and said, "Dad also misses home and wants to stay a few days. The hospital gave me medicine, and I brought it all back. There's enough for several days. Once the medicine is finished, we'll go back to the hospital."

He knew his own body well, and he felt he didn't have many days left. Once he finished these few days of medicine... it would almost be over. But there were so many things he was reluctant to leave and worried about.

"Dad, we have a CT scan and other tests scheduled at the hospital tomorrow. Can we go to the hospital after dinner?" Shen Modi held her father's hand tightly, her pleading eyes looking at him. Even though her father knew about his condition, she couldn't bear to mention chemotherapy or radiotherapy.

Shen Weiguo couldn't bear to see his daughter's eyes like this. They were red, and the determined light in them made his heart ache.

"Dad!" Shen Modi called. Her tears fell on her father's hand. The burning tears pained Shen Weiguo's heart. With red eyes, he conceded, "Alright... Dad will go to the hospital tomorrow. Tonight, Dad wants to stay at home."

Tomorrow he would go to the hospital to ease his daughter's mind. He only had a few days left. Staying in the hospital cost money, adding to Xiao Di's burden.

"Okay, we'll stay home tonight. I'll go cook with Xiaoguang." Shen Modi, relieved, immediately wiped away her tears and went to the kitchen to cook with her brother. During this time, while their father was hospitalized, she cooked and brought food to the hospital every day, running between work, the hospital, and home. On weekends, she also had a part-time job teaching foreign languages. She never felt tired. She only feared that despite all her efforts, she wouldn't be able to extend her father's time.

... 

Dinner. The family enjoyed a happy meal together. Shen Weiguo's appetite was surprisingly good. Not only did he eat more than one bowl of rice, but he also drank two small bowls of soup. Seeing this, Shen Modi and her brother felt joy in their hearts. They wished their father could get better, although they knew it was just a wishful thought.

After dinner, the siblings cleaned up and then watched TV with their father for a while. Afraid their father would get tired, they helped him back to his room to rest around eight o'clock. Early the next morning, Shen Modi got up to make breakfast. Worried about her father, she got up twice during the night to check on him. Seeing her father sleeping peacefully reassured her. Just as she finished frying the egg pancakes, she suddenly heard her father coughing violently from his room. Shen Modi panicked, immediately dropping the spatula and rushing into his room. "Dad..."

What she saw was a shocking patch of blood on the light blue bedspread.

"Dad!" Shen Modi rushed over, her hands trembling as she dialed 120. "Hello, emergency center? Please hurry, my dad is vomiting blood, at Liyuan Community, please come quickly..."

Shen Weiguo reached out to grab Shen Modi's hand, trying to take her phone. Shen Modi didn't let him. She regretted not taking her father to the hospital yesterday afternoon. 

"Xiao Di, child, don't cry, listen to Dad…" Shen Weiguo leaned against the headboard, speaking with difficulty. 

"Dad, don't talk, don't talk. Xiaoguang, I'll go get Xiaoguang." Shen Modi was afraid her father wouldn't make it. Their rented apartment was small, and her brother was sleeping on the balcony in the living room. Being born deaf and mute, he couldn't hear any sounds. Just as Modi was about to rush to the living room to find her brother, Shen Xiaoguang had already run over. He was getting up to make breakfast and noticed the door to the room was open, so he immediately came over. 

One look at the bloodstains, and the usually silent Xiaoguang made anxious grunting sounds. Shen Weiguo, with tears in his eyes, smiled and reached out to Xiaoguang. 

"Ah... ah..." Xiaoguang cried out in agony. 

"Child, don't worry, Dad is fine," Shen Weiguo signed with difficulty. 

"Dad…" Shen Modi sobbed, kneeling by the bed, holding her father's hand with one hand and checking the time on her phone with the other, hoping the ambulance would arrive quickly. 

"Xiao Di, you shouldn't have to bear all this suffering… Xiao Di, I told you when you graduated from college… you're not my biological daughter. I found you at an amusement park. You should find your biological parents…"

"Dad, don't say that, please don't say that." Shen Modi cried, "In this life, I am only your daughter." Her father had told her this when she graduated from college. He had found her at an amusement park and waited there for a whole day, but no one came to look for her. So, he raised her. Even during the hardest times, her father never abandoned her. Though their life wasn't affluent, her father had given everything he could. 

"Silly child, why are you so stubborn? You should have gone to find your parents after graduating from college…" Then you wouldn't have been burdened by him!

"Dad, don't talk anymore, save your strength, the ambulance will be here soon." Shen Modi tightly held her father's hand.

"Xiao Di, don't bother, Dad doesn't want to go to the hospital… I want to stay at home."

"No, Dad, we're going to the hospital."

"Dad wants to… see your boyfriend…" Shen Weiguo said, coughing up blood again. He felt his end was near and wanted to see Xiao Di's boyfriend before he died. Just in case souls really do exist after death, he needed to know who he should protect.